I don't often post about our own work, but I am very proud of the outcome at The Wigwam (Litchfield Park, Arizona).
We took a gamble on keeping the Robert Trent Jones, Sr. greens not re-building them as many had suggested needed to be done. Instead, we studied the agronomic conditions and worked to change management protocols and the management itself! Members and others raised eyebrows at our conclusion...and our recommendation to save money and not get into a complete re-build of the greens.
Ron Proch, the new greenkeeper, has done a wonderful job of transforming these 43-year old greens which were once bentgrass.
Yesterday the greens were running 12.5 or faster, which made for some very interesting putting. Jones did not put too much into the original greens (tilts and a few levels here and there...that's all), so the loss of bentgrass in the 1980s was a big blow for the course. What interest could be seen in the putting surfaces became lost when the much slower Bermudagrass was installed.
Proch has taken our ideas along with some expansion areas and a few new greens and has gone well beyond the call-of-duty to get the surfaces in tremendous shape. The overseeded Bermudagrass is as excellent as anything in Phoenix. I have not at all been impressed with many of the super-dwarf Bermuda varieties. The good ol' 328-Tif-dwarf that has been at The Wigwam for nearly 30-years has proven itself worthy, especially with the new care and management practices.